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Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman PEter Welch joined employees of Revision Military in Newport celebrating its five-year contract to provide up to 293,870 helmets to the US Army for a total value of $98 million. The contract, which awards manufacture of the Army’s Advanced Combat Helmet Generation II to Revision, was first announced in March. Since 2013, Revision’s Newport facility has expanded by 16,000 square feet and employment there has doubled to about 190 employees.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan joined five other state Attorneys General seeking to intervene in a lawsuit to force federal action on a toxic pesticide, Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos, a widely-used pesticide on food crops – including those consumed by infants, young children and pregnant women – has been shown to negatively impact proper development and functioning of the central nervous system and the brain.

The Attorneys General are seeking to join a case, which is before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, to compel the EPA to take final action on a petition submitted by a coalition of environmental, human health and farmworker non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to revoke all chlorpyrifos “tolerances” - or permitted residues - on food.

“Vermont deserves safe food. Our children deserve safe food,” said Attorney General Donovan. “Vermonters’ health is at risk by continued exposure to this pesticide on food.”

Vermont Business MagazineVermont PBS will host a special international edition of “Vermont This Week.” Premiering Friday, July 7 at 7:30 pm, the new episode will be originate in Montreal at the studios of the CTV and will zero in on the hot-button cross-border issues facing Canada and Vermont.
Joining guest host Peter Hirschfeld of Vermont Public Radio for discussion and debate will be a panel of leading Canadian journalists.

Vermont Business MagazineApplications are now being accepted for the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence in Supporting Mature Workers. Vermont’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Department of Labor (DOL) are co-sponsoring the award and encourage any employer to consider applying for the statewide recognition. In partnership with Vermont’s Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) and AARP Vermont, the award recognizes Vermont employers who demonstrate exceptional commitment to employment practices that benefit and support the inclusion and retention of mature workers.

Criteria for the award include:

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJDonovan today joined a coalition of 19 states in suing the USDepartment of Education and Secretary Betsy DeVos for abandoning critical federal protections that were set to go into effect on July 1, 2017.

The complaint, filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey in U.S. District Court, alleges that the Department of Education violated federal law by abruptly rescinding its Borrower Defense Rule which was designed to hold abusive higher education institutions accountable for cheating students and taxpayers out of billions of dollars in federal loans. The rule was finalized by the Obama administration in November 2016 after nearly two years of negotiations, following the collapse of Corinthian Colleges, a national for-profit chain.

Vermont Business Magazine Saint Michael’s College and Peace Corps on July 5 announced the launch of a new Paul D. Coverdell Fellows program housed in the College’s Applied Linguistics Department. The program offers graduate school scholarships to returned Peace Corps volunteers pursuing a Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. All program Fellows will complete internships in underserved American communities while they pursue their studies, allowing them to bring home and expand upon the skills they learned as volunteers.

Vermont Business Magazine National Grid and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 104 today announced agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the Granite State Power Link (GSPL), an electric transmission project that would bring up to 1,200 megawatts of clean energy from Canada to the New England power grid. A small section of the line runs through northeastern Vermont. National Grid, and development partner Citizens Energy, have committed to utilizing IBEW’s skilled local workers to build the project, which is estimated to create up to 2,000 jobs during the construction phase.

“We are extremely pleased to work with the IBEW and its skilled local workers on the construction of the Granite State Power Link,” said Joseph Rossignoli, GSPL project director. “The Granite State Power Link will deliver significant benefits to families and businesses in New Hampshire and throughout New England.”

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Emergency Management (VEM) Director Erica Bornemann today asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct a preliminary damage assessment (PDA) in five Vermont counties impacted by severe storms from June 29-July 2. More than $2 million in damage to public infrastructure has been verified by the state, and the cost of still more damage is yet to be officially tallied.Along with general flooding, road closings and culvert washouts, the storm stopped Amtrak service when a rail bed was washed out in Hartford. Also, a section of I-89 northbound also in Hartford was closed for a short-time when a sink hole formed in the breakdown and travel lanes.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas customers continue to praise the company’s quality of service, according to the 2017 Vermont Gas Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. More than 93% of Vermont Gas customers rated the quality of service as good to excellent.

Vermont Business MagazineA few months before Tropical Storm Irene devastated much of central and southern Vermont in August 2011, rain and snow melt caused tributaries to swell, resulting in the highest-ever Lake Champlain water levels. Along with record flooding along the coasts of Vermont and New York, waters spilled north up theRichelieu River to cause vast damagein Quebec ($72 million CD). That event resulted in a cross-border study of how to mitigate future flooding. TodaytheInternational Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study Board released itsdraft Work Plan.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has named Union Bank its Vermont Guaranteed Lender of the Year for the fourth year running. This recognition from USDA Rural Development reflects Union Bank’s dedication to helping families achieve the dream of homeownership and their commitment to customer service.

by Jeff Forward Only three US states were countries before joining the Union. Ask any American to name these three states, and most will probably name Texas, “the Lone Star State.” Many might also be able to then tell you that Hawaii, which only became a state in 1959, was a country before it was folded into these United States. And if you are a Vermonter reading this, you, of course know that the Green Mountain State, Vermont, governed itself independently for 14 years before officially joining the 13 original colonies.